Kurdish Rights Group Demands Probe into Syria Mass Killings
The organizations have urged the international community to launch an independent investigation into what they describe as war crimes and mass killings targeting the Alawite community.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdish Human Rights Network in Syria, along with several Kurdish human rights organizations, has issued a strong condemnation of the ongoing violence in Syria’s coastal region, calling for an immediate halt to ethnic cleansing and sectarian-based atrocities.
The organizations have urged the international community to launch an independent investigation into what they describe as war crimes and mass killings targeting the Alawite community.
Mass Killings and Widespread Reprisal Attacks
The crisis in Syria’s coastal region has escalated into one of the deadliest episodes of sectarian violence since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. According to a New York Times report, over 1,000 people have been killed, with at least 700 civilians among the dead, as government security forces launched a brutal counteroffensive against armed remnants of the former regime. The Washington Post reported that large-scale reprisal attacks targeting Alawite civilians have taken place, with entire families being executed and villages set ablaze.
The Wall Street Journal also highlighted that foreign fighters have played a significant role in these attacks, further complicating Syria’s fragile security situation. One resident from Al-Qabu, near Homs, told the WSJ, “Near our house, there are 15 bodies, and nobody has the courage to remove them since yesterday.” Another resident in Baniyas described seeing storefront windows shattered and looted, with streets littered with bodies.
Human Rights Organizations Sound Alarm Over Mass Killings
In a statement released from Qamishlo on Sunday, the Kurdish Human Rights Network and allied organizations declared that they are deeply alarmed by the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Syria’s coastal region.
“We, the Kurdish Human Rights Network in Syria and Kurdish human rights organizations, are deeply alarmed by the tragic events unfolding in Syria’s coastal region, where members of the Alawite community are facing mass killings, arson, and looting, in addition to the execution of unarmed civilians. Based on our field investigations, these acts amount to war crimes and ethnic cleansing against this community.”
Eyewitness Accounts and Growing International Concern
Eyewitness accounts and hundreds of verified videos and images circulating on social media provide evidence of armed factions affiliated with the Syrian army, including foreign fighters, storming villages, executing civilians, and looting homes. According to a New York Times report, a 29-year-old resident of Al-Haffa recounted seeing uniformed men chasing unarmed civilians before opening fire on them in the streets.
The report by The Washington Post confirmed that at least 624 Alawite civilians have been killed in recent attacks. Many residents have fled into the mountains, forests, and neighboring Lebanon, while others remain trapped, fearing for their lives. “Entire families were being wiped out,” said a doctor working in Al-Qadmus, describing how the injured arrived with gunshot wounds and shrapnel injuries.
Urgent Calls for Action
The Kurdish Human Rights Network and its allied organizations have issued an urgent appeal for immediate action to prevent further atrocities. The coalition has demanded the following:
1- Immediate cessation of military operations in Syria’s coastal region, Kobani, and the Tishreen Dam area.
2- An end to all forms of ethnic cleansing and racial persecution against Syria’s diverse communities.
3- Withdrawal of military forces and armed factions from towns, villages, and residential areas, returning them to their bases.
4- The establishment of independent civilian bodies to maintain security, free from military coercion.
5- Revelation of the fate of missing persons and an end to the alarming increase in enforced disappearances.
6- Formation of an independent international investigation committee, with the participation of Syrian human rights organizations and direct oversight from the United Nations, to uncover the truth behind the violence.
7- Accountability for all parties involved in war crimes and sectarian-based violence.
8- Prosecution of individuals and entities spreading hate speech, while advocating for a comprehensive national dialogue that includes all Syrian factions, aiming to build a future based on justice and peace.
Growing Pressure on Syria’s Interim Government
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, responded to the crisis by urging unity and pledging to investigate the attacks. However, The Washington Post reported that Sharaa, a former leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, now faces increasing scrutiny over his ability to control the armed groups operating in the country.
A Wall Street Journal report quoted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who condemned the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days and called for Syria’s minority communities—including Christians, Druze, Alawites, and Kurds—to be protected.
The United Nations has also expressed deep concern, with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warning that “The killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease immediately.”
Broad Support from Kurdish and Syrian Civil Society Organizations
The call for an independent international investigation and the cessation of hostilities has been endorsed by numerous Kurdish and Syrian civil society organizations, including:
- Kurdish Human Rights Network in Syria
- Syrian Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (DAD)
- Jiyan Foundation For Human Rights
- Kurdish Feminist Movement "Tevgera Femînistên Kurd"
- Human Rights Organization in Syria – MAF
- Kurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria (RASED)
- Organization for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience in Syria – Rewangeh
- Kurdish Civil Society Organization in Europe
- Kurdistan Civil Society Forces
- Free Kurdish Women's Organization
- Legal Committee of the National Democratic Meeting in Syria
- General Union of Kurdish Writers and Journalists in Syria
- Kurdistan Women’s Union in Syria
The statement underscores the grave humanitarian crisis facing Syria and the failure of the international community to act decisively in preventing the resurgence of ethnic-based atrocities.
As human rights organizations demand urgent intervention, it remains to be seen whether the international community, particularly the United Nations and global powers, will respond to calls for accountability and justice for the victims of these mass killings.
